I recently became a tennis fan and a beginner on the court. At first, I tried to hit every ball and force it to the opposite court. I tried hard, hit hard—and played badly. My technique was poor, I couldn’t last long, and I wasn’t learning. I didn’t pause to reflect; I just kept swinging. The result was exhaustion and unforced errors: balls flying long or dying in the net.
Then I reflected. Instead of swinging at everything, I began to wait. Hitting at the right time is a smarter strategy. I focus on the ball, choose my moment, and if it isn’t right, I let it go. This conserves stamina and attention for the shots that matter. The positive feedback from well-timed strokes builds confidence and accelerates progress—slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
This lesson extends beyond tennis. There is a beginner’s trap in many pursuits: chasing every opportunity, mistaking effort for improvement, and confusing motion with progress. Restraint creates room for strategy. Selective action outperforms constant action, because energy is finite and timing multiplies skill.
So is investment. As Buffett puts it:
The trick in investing is just sit there, and watch the pitch after pitch go by, and wait for the one right in your sweet spot. And the people that are yelling, “swing, you bum”—ignore them.
In markets, your capital and emotional energy are your racket. Fear of missing out pushes constant action, but not swinging is not losing; the money remains in your hand. If a stock you like falls, that may be a discounted entry. If it doesn’t, you still haven’t lost anything. Build a watchlist of a few quality targets, be patient, and act decisively only when the odds align.
Patience is not passivity; it is disciplined selectivity. Save energy for high-quality opportunities, ignore pressure to act for its own sake, and trust that you lose nothing by waiting for the right hit.
Today is 20250922, and the following is my watching list:
- 09988(HK,alibaba) 159.2
- 159537 1.595
- 159770 1.126